A young lady lays in her bed, hair messy and limbs sprawled out, happily in a deep sleep. It just so happens that this day, July 18th, is her very first official day of summer vacation. It also just so happens that earlier that day, when she had been ripped from her blissful sleep by her annoying alarm clock, she had unknowingly pressed the 'Dismiss' button on her alarm clock instead of 'Snooze' and was now running late for her first day of work.
The cellphone on the nightstand rang loudly, echoing through out the room. With an audible groan a hand reached out from under the pillow and snatched up the phone. A single blue eye peered out from under the pillow to read the caller ID. The name 'Sammy' read across the phone and her sleeping mind didn't understand why her friend would be calling.
"Hello..." She mumbled groggily.
"Do you have ANY idea what time it is?!" Responded an irritated voice. Flinching, Kayla sighed and forced herself to look at the time. The red digits on her clock read eight twenty two. She cursed loudly to herself and threw off the covers and swung her legs over the bed. The day had just started and she could already tell it was going to be [i]great[/i].
"Ugh, shit. I'll be there in a minute" She sighed and trudged over to her dresser, pulling the drawers open and grabbing any set of clothing she could get her hands on.
"Just don't talk like that around the kids" Sam reminded her. It was good thing that you couldn't hear people rolling their eyes over the phone. "I'll just tell the parents it will be just a minute more while I straighten out the paper work, hurry up or I swear you WILL regret this!" Sam hissed over the phone and hung up. With a groan Kayla tossed the cellphone onto her bed and slipped into the bathroom to get dressed.
Peeling off her pajamas Kayla wadded them into a ball and tossed them towards the hamper, they plopped on top of the large sloppy pile of dirty clothes. Another thing to add to the mental checklist. Quickly she slipped on her blue jeans and T-shirt, grabbing the brush and quickly running it through her hair. Her thick brown hair was always manageable, even on the worst days.
Running out of her bathroom and into her bedroom she snatched up the gray backpack from the floor and a cellphone clip from the bureau. Slipping her phone into the clip she grabbed her laptop, a notebook and some mechanical pencils. Zipping her bag up she made a mental count of everything she needed. Notebook, laptop, pencils, check. Opening a small drawer in her nightstand she pulled out a pair of keys and dashed out of her room.
Practically jumping down the stairs she bounded through the house and to the door, throwing it open and slamming it shut. She quickly jammed her house key into the lock and twisted, locking the door up tight. Pivoting on her heels she darted to the side of her house where she hid her ten speed mountain bike, between the house and garage.
A black helmet was hanging by its straps on the handlebars of the bike, she instinctively snatched it up and snapped it onto her head once she was mounted on her bike. Just as soon as she snapped on the bike she went speeding down the sidewalk as she mentally replayed the directions to work in her head. Go straight until you pass the bridge then take a left until she got to tall oak tree behind a giant rock, then turn right. A few more turns and skids down the road and sidewalks she finally completely halted her bike in front of small white building.
A small smile played across her lips as she stared at the building. A rainbow played an arc over the doorway, the words 'welcome' floating on clouds above it. Thank you, Sam, for the beautiful decor. Putting her bike on the side of the building she quickly took a glance at her watch. Seven minutes flat, new record.
"Hey!" Kayla greeted Sam as she busted through the door. "I am so sorry, Sam, I accidentally-" Kayla began apologizing, but was silenced when Sam had shoved a clipboard into her stomach. Confused Kayla looked at her.
"No time, we need to interview parents and kids" Sam said hastily as she walked into the waiting room. With a sigh of relief Kayla followed after her, reading the names on the list. Sam had taken the liberty in organizing the names alphabetically.
"Aradia Megido and Ms. Megido?" Sam called looking around the room. Looking up from the clipboard she watched as a small troll girl toddled forward. The little girl looked no more than four or five, in human years, her horns were just barely big enough to curl backwards. A small ram-kangaroo like lusus bounced to the side of the young troll girl, looking up at Sam with a smile in her eyes.
"Oh!" Sam said, somewhat caught off-guard by the lusus. Quickly she corrected herself and asked the two to follow them into the interview room. Before leaving, Kayla looked up from the clipboard and scanned the room, noticing that there where many more trolls than humans.
Turning around and catching up with the others she walked alongside the young troll girl. Glancing down Kayla noticed that the girl was staring up at her. She greeted her with a warm smile, hoping that Aradia would smile back, but instead was returned with a blank cold stare. A moment of awkward silence and Kayla entered the interview room.
Each interview was only six or seven minutes long. Along with checking off the names of the children and the parent or guardian they had interviewed Kayla had taken the liberty of pulling out her notebook and writing down things that they needed to remember. Allergies, disabilities, conditions, and whatever else they Kayla felt that she might forget in the near future.
Once the last guardian had left the interview room Kayla began re-reading the list. She had checked off all the names except one, Karkat Vantas. Kayla looked at her notes rather quickly, trying to see if she had mentioned him in any notes. Looking up she opened her mouth to ask Sam if there was anyone else in the waiting room.
"Hello?!" The door swung open and smashed the backwards into the wall behind it. Sam almost jumped out of her skin and briskly left the interview room. Kayla followed behind her hurriedly, hoping that the door wasn't broken.
Once out in the waiting room Sam stood there, mouth slightly gaped, as a tall crustacean lusus towered over the two. Kayla swallowed hard, afraid of what exactly the large lusus might do. To their relief the small troll at his feet was stomping on his foot. For some odd reason, it seemed to calm the large crab-like lusus down.
"Um...Are you Mr. Vantas?" Kayla asked rather hesitantly.
"Yeah, I'm really sorry I'm so fucking late," He reached a large claw down at the boy, pinching the back of his shirt and lifting him up. The small troll hissed and snarled at his lusus, kicking wildly to be put down.
"Alright, sir, if you could just follow us to the interview room we can-" Sam was interrupted as the lusus gave her the young boy that was kicking and snarling. Instinctively Sam grabbed the boy so that the lusus would not drop the boy onto the ground, he ceased his tantrum and looked up at her with anger and confusion.
"Listen, I don't have fucking time for some bullshit interview" He scoffed, "He's not allergic to nothing, is a cranky ass, and if you can get him down for a nap you deserve a fucking medal. Be good I'll pick your fucking ass up around three" The door slammed shut as he left. The two stood there, blinking in confusion.
"Well..." Kayla said, breaking the silence.
"Down!" Karkat said as she pushed against her arms. Sam bent over and gingerly set him down. The boy dashed into the play area where the other kids had already gathered. Parent's had left by two's and three's as they said goodbye to their child and left for their jobs. Kayla stood there and watched the kids as they either awkwardly played with one another or sat alone with drawing paper or dinosaur toys.
"Alright, kids!" Sam clapped her hands to gather their attention, "It's Circle Time! Everyone, come onto the rug and make a big circle!" Sam said and encouraged the kids to come sit in a big circle on the rug. Kayla gave a silent sigh and sat next to Sam.
"Are we really fucking doing this?" Kayla murmured into Sam's ear as the kids drew closer.
"Shut up and do it and don't swear around the kids" Sam hissed back, too low for the children to hear. It took a moment but soon enough all the children shuffled into a large circle. Kayla rolled her eyes and gave a fake smile, elbowing Sam for her to start this silly thing.